When should I do my first water change while cycling before discus arrive?

[archiebellacoco]

Hey guys
Have been cycling the tank for a week and have another week to go
I'm using seachem stability to get it started and frequently testing its starting to get there
Just wondering when I should do my first water change?
Hoping to get the discus on Sunday next week

Thanks in advance!!!

[Second Hand Pat]

Best to do a large WC just prior to the fish coming. You will also need to watch your water parameters as discus are large fish and the increased bio-load could cause a mini-cycle which you can control with large, daily WCs.

And welcome to SD Jess.

[archiebellacoco]

No worries
I'm going away Boxing Day and coming back two days later with them
Do you think I could get away with one on Christmas eve? Or should I do one just before I put them in?
Thanks heaps

[Len]

Welcome to SD. When you say you've been cycling with stability for over a week, what does that mean? Are there fish already in the tank or are you adding ammonia to feed the bacteria? The reason I ask is if you just added the stability and there is no food source for the beneficial bacteria to feed on (ammonia/nitrite) then the tank isn't really cycling at all.

[archiebellacoco]

Stability is a cycling product

[bornlooser]

Hi Jess, my understanding is that Seachem-Stability is used when fish are in a new tank,and that you need to add daily doses up to 7 days after which you can do your regular water changes.

[Len]

Stability is a cycling product

Sorry I wasn't clear in my question. I know what stability is, but I was trying to explain that if you added it to an empty tank (no fish) and have let it sit in the water for a week, that isn't cycling the tank because there would have been no food source for the bacteria in the product to feed on and in turn multiply and colonize the filter medium. If there are no fish in the tank then you would accommodate this by adding small amounts of ammonia to the water and then monitor the ammonia level and then add more when it drops. There's a little more to it than that buit if it was a fishless cycle you were attempting to do then I can explain further.

If, however, your intention was to be able to add fish right away with this product, you would add the product at the same time as the fish and then follow the dosing instructions for subsequent doses. This method will work as intended, but it will take longer to actually cycle the tank.

[MendoMan]

Best do a little research on cycling a new tank. Have you been adding ammonia and seeing if your cycle is working?It is just my opinion, although shared by many others, most bacteria in a bottle regardless of brands is little more than snake oil.

[Len]

Best do a little research on cycling a new tank. Have you been adding ammonia and seeing if your cycle is working?It is just my opinion, although shared by many others, most bacteria in a bottle regardless of brands is little more than snake oil.

That's a pretty broad statement and not altogether accurate. There are several of those products on the market that are very effective. Pure Pond / Pure aquarium, Colony, Cycle - just to name a few.

[OC Discus]

Agreed. These products "cycle" the tank by breaking down the waste of fish in the tank. If there are no fish in the tank, they will simply die as there is no waste for them to consume.

The OP should research doing a fishless cycle if that is his desire.

That's a pretty broad statement and not altogether accurate. There are several of those products on the market that are very effective. Pure Pond / Pure aquarium, Colony, Cycle - just to name a few.

[MendoMan]

That's a pretty broad statement and not altogether accurate. There are several of those products on the market that are very effective. Pure Pond / Pure aquarium, Colony, Cycle - just to name a few.

If in order for your good bacteria to stay health and active it has to have food, either fish waste or in the absence of fish, ammonia. So how can it possibly be kept alive in a bottle on a shelf with no food source?

[Len]

If in order for your good bacteria to stay health and active it has to have food, either fish waste or in the absence of fish, ammonia. So how can it possibly be kept alive in a bottle on a shelf with no food source?

Can't really answer that, but to be honest it doesn't really much matter for me to know -- I just need to know they work. Are you speaking from experience or making an assumption based on what would seem to make sense? I've used all of the products I mentioned above and can tell you from first hand experience that they have worked well. Purepond was the winner for me, because it remains in your sump (or other filter) for a long time and doesn't get washed away during water changes.

[TfnG]

One member on this forum says with daily WC you shouldn't need to cycle a sponge...

[MendoMan]

Can't really answer that, but to be honest it doesn't really much matter for me to know -- I just need to know they work. Are you speaking from experience or making an assumption based on what would seem to make sense? I've used all of the products I mentioned above and can tell you from first hand experience that they have worked well. Purepond was the winner for me, because it remains in your sump (or other filter) for a long time and doesn't get washed away during water changes.

Last year I was cycling two 55's using the fish less cycle. After a couple of weeks I grew impatient and added one of the products (i'll withhold the brand) to one of the tanks. I checked the expiration date on the bottle and it was well within it's time. The one tank that I did not add to completed it's cycle two days before the one that the product was added to. I'm only basing my conclusion on my experience and my opinion it sounds like they have worked for others.